H.R.H. THE PRINCESS ROYAL (Hansard, 30 March 1965)

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)
I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty to express the deep sympathy of this House at the loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal; and to offer condolences to Her Majesty on this sudden bereavement which will evoke sorrow as wide as the special esteem and affection with which the Princess Royal was regarded; and to assure Her Majesty that this House will ever participate with the most affectionate and dutiful attachment in whatever may concern the feelings and interests of Her Majesty. The death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, the only daughter of their late Majesties, King George V and Queen Mary, removes from us one who by her quiet devotion to duty did much to strengthen our national life. During the First World War she gave much time and energy to the welfare of the Armed Forces, and, in the second, by her appointment first as Controller and then as Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, she was closely associated with the great part which women played in the victory over Nazism.
I think that the House will also wish to recall her life-long interest in nursing, which derived from her own success in completing the course of training as a nurse.
In more recent years she travelled extensively in the Commonwealth and abroad and did much to strengthen the links which bind us together. She bore a full share in the burden which has fallen with increasing weight on the Sovereign as new nations have come to independence within the Commonwealth.
Perhaps the House will allow me also to mention her special associations with Yorkshire. She took an active part in the life of the county and it gave great pleasure when, in 1951, she was installed as Chancellor of Leeds University, having nearly 20 years previously received the freedom of that city.
The House will wish to take this opportunity of expressing their deep sympathy with her children, Lord Hare-wood and Mr. Lascelles.

Hon. Members
Hear, hear.

§ Sir Alec Douglas-Home (Kinross and West Perthshire)
I would like to support the Motion which has been moved by the Prime Minister. As he said, the Princess Royal was greatly respected and loved by the British people. There is no need to look very far for the reason because, quite simply, she personified everything which to all of us simply seems to be good.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal was a daughter and a sister in a most devoted Royal family. She made her home the centre of her life and, with her great knowledge and taste, she made it a place of peace and beauty and home life. As the Prime Minister reminded us, she lived in one of the greatest counties of England and took the fullest part in its varied life, including being Chancellor of Leeds University.
Every Yorkshireman is a sportsman and the Princess Royal's knowledge of horses and racing took her very quickly into all of their hearts. Everyone respected her all the more because it was common knowledge that she was, by nature, a very shy person. In spite of that, she took on every kind of public service in the county and made a success of every one; Girl Guides, Red Cross, nursing and the regiments with which she was associated as honorary colonel. Many a Commonwealth country will have the happiest and most grateful memories of the Princess Royal.
Today, we take leave of a great and very gracious lady and we send our sympathy to all her family.

§ Mr. J. Grimond (Orkney and Shetland)
I wish to associate the Liberal Party with the tributes which have been paid by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to the Princess Royal.
During her life she discharged her public engagements, both here and overseas, with a most meticulous sense of duty. But she did more than that. She did more than earn respect from the numerous organisations with which she was associated. She aroused the affection of all those with whom she came in contact in many voluntary movements in this and in other countries. In many regiments, and particularly in Yorkshire, she will, as has been said, be most sadly 1401 missed, not only as a Royal person but as a person in her own right.
I would like to join in sending the sympathy of the House to her relatives and in supporting the Motion.

§ Mr. R. H. Turton (Thirsk and Malton)
May I, from the back benches, give my support to the Motion? May I also, if the House will forgive me, speak as the oldest hon. Member for Yorkshire?
Ever since the Princess Royal came as a bride, 43 years ago, to Yorkshire she gave her heart to Yorkshire and Yorkshire gave her affection and respect. The Prime Minister spoke of the work which she did as Chancellor of Leeds University. May I add to that the fact that, whenever we had a Yorkshire agricultural show, we always had the Princess Royal as an exhibitor? There was no keener farmer than her at those shows.
The Princess Royal was the President of the Women's Voluntary Service in Yorkshire and she was constantly in that uniform. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition talked of the work that she did as colonel-in-chief of various regiments. She was, in fact, Colonel-in-Chief of the West Yorkshire Regiment, but what is not generally known is that when her cousin, the King of Norway, could not attend ceremonies of the sister regiment, the Green Howards, the Princess Royal always took his place and attended those ceremonies.
There are two characteristics I always felt about the Princess Royal. One was her dislike of fuss, which she always stipulated with her very great sense of humour, and the other was her very strict interpretation of duty. She never spared herself and the country and the County of Yorkshire can ill spare Her Royal Highness.